After The Raid
By: AliasCWN
Chapter 1
"What happened?" Troy jumped from his jeep and ran to the other one.
Tully rolled to a stop carefully. He didn't want to stop too quickly because he was afraid that Moffitt would fall out if he did.
"They had a machine gun in one of the trucks." Tully explained as Troy reached for Moffitt's limp body. "We'd just started our run when they pushed the canvas aside and opened up on us. I got out of there as fast as I could Sarge." Tully's face was twisted with worry as Troy slid an arm around Moffitt.
"Hitch, watch for the Germans!"
Hitch grabbed a rifle and a pair of binoculars and ran for the highest point near the parked jeeps.
Tully was out of his seat and around the jeep before Troy could move Moffitt. Reaching out, he helped lift the unconscious sergeant out of the jeep. Between the two of them they carried him to a spot of shade and gently placed him on the ground.
"Get the med kit Tully." Troy didn't look at Tully as he spoke; his entire concentration was on the rapidly spreading red stain on Moffitt's chest.
Tully returned with the med kit, a canteen, and a blanket. While Troy applied pressure to the wound, Tully dug out the supplies they would need to treat their teammate.
"I may have the bleeding here under control but that wound in his arm is still leaking. See if you can get some pressure on it and get that bleeding stopped."
Tully looked at Moffitt's arm and was surprised that he hadn't noticed the wound earlier. The sergeant's sleeve was completely saturated and the blood was dripping steadily from his fingertips.
"Pour some water on this so I can see what we have." Troy ordered, breaking into Tully's thoughts.
As Tully splashed water over the chest wound he was relieved to see that the bleeding did indeed seem to be under control. Troy applied a pressure bandage and began to wrap gauze around Moffitt's chest.
"How does the arm look?"
Tully looked away from the wound to meet Troy eye to eye. "Not good Sarge, it's still bleeding heavily. I can't seem to get enough pressure on it to stop it."
Troy checked the wound and frowned. "We're going to have to find some way to get more pressure on it and keep it there. I don't like stopping here. We're going to have to move him someplace with less traffic."
"That column didn't follow us Sarge."
"Not yet but they might once they arrange to send their own wounded back to their base. We hurt them too." Troy answered quietly. "I think they'll be on our trail before long."
"They probably know that they hit Doc." Tully warned.
"Which is why I think they'll follow; I think they'll want to hit us while we're vulnerable."
"We need to stop the bleeding before we can move him." Tully looked down at the pale face and tried to hide his worry.
"We will Tully." Troy answered, his hands busy trying to stem the flow of blood. "Get me some more gauze; we'll try taping a roll on top of the wound and wrapping it to hold the pressure on it." Two rolls of gauze and a roll of tape later the flow had slowed, but not enough.
"I can hold it while you drive." Tully suggested.
"It won't work." Troy growled in frustration. "We need one jeep to cover the other one if we run into any Germans. We can't drive too fast. You'll have to take Moffitt while I ride with Hitch."
Both men watched as the rolls of gauze turned red under the tape until there was no more white.
"There has got to be a way." Troy stared at the wound as if the answer was written on the gauze.
"I've got an idea Sarge." Tully sat on the ground and began to unlace the gaiter around his ankle. The canvas cuff that kept the sand out of his boots was covered with fine grit and he very carefully brushed it off as best he could.
"That just might work Tully." Troy's eyes lit up as he realized what Tully had in mind.
The private wrapped the cuff around Moffitt's arm over the roll of gauze, pulling the laces tight over the wound. The gaiter held the roll tight against the wound, keeping the pressure in place. Both men watched as the drip from the fingertips slowed and stopped.
"I think you got it Tully." Troy let his pride in Tully reflect in his tone. "That was good thinking. Let me check the chest wound again." The sergeant leaned over to check the bandage he had applied to Moffitt's chest. He nodded slowly and sighed. "I think we have the bleeding under control."
"What about internal bleeding?"
Troy looked up at his worried private and shook his head. "I don't know Tully, I'm no doctor. I guess we'll just have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst." Troy pulled the blanket up to Moffitt's chin before grabbing a rag to wipe his hands. "Hitch, do you see anything?"
"Not yet Sarge." The blond called back.
"Okay, keep your eyes open. Tully and I are going to make a bed for Moffitt in the jeep."
"Right Sarge." The blond nodded without taking his eyes from the desert. "How is he?"
Troy had started to turn away but at the question he paused. 'How was he?' He wasn't a doctor, or even a medic, he really had no idea how to answer that question. Glancing up at his driver's back, he decided on honesty.
"I don't know Hitch. He caught one in the chest and another in the arm. Thanks to Tully we have the bleeding stopped but I don't know what else to do for him. The bullets are still in there."
"What are we going to do?"
"I want to move him someplace safer and let him rest for a while, and then I want to find a hospital that can take care of him."
"Can we move him like that?"
Again Troy chose honesty over guesswork. "I don't know but I don't think we have much choice." Troy glanced around at their present location. "We can't defend this place. Even if we could I don't think we want to hang around too long. We need to get him to a hospital."
Hitch started to nod as he scanned the desert. "I just hope Doc can handle the move." He popped a bubble and chewed hard on his gum. "When are we moving?"
"Just keep your eyes open. Tully and I will get him ready and we'll head out as soon as he's comfortable."
"Right Sarge."
"I'll make a bed in the rear" Tully rose from beside Moffitt and headed for his jeep.
"Use the blankets out of our jeep too." Troy called after him.
Tully nodded and swerved toward the other jeep. Grabbing the blankets, he returned to his own jeep to rearrange the gear to make room for the injured man. In no time at all he had made a hole that he could pad with blankets. He rolled one up to use as a pillow and padding for the sergeant's head. One he saved to cover the wounded man to help fight off shock. The others he folded and made into a thick mattress. "Ready Sarge."
"Okay Tully, let's get him in the jeep." Troy ordered. The two men carefully lifted their wounded friend and carried him to the makeshift bed. Tully draped the last blanket over Moffitt and pulled it up to his chin. Ever so gently he tucked the edges around his body.
"You just rest Doc; we'll get you someplace safe." He patted the wounded sergeant's shoulder even though he wasn't sure if his friend could hear him.
"We'll lead Tully; I'll have Hitch look for the smoothest path, you just concentrate on Moffitt."
"Gotcha Sarge." Tully's eyes darkened as he looked at the still form in the rear of his jeep.
"Hitch!"
Troy's call to his driver startled Tully out of his fog. Even though they were still not moving Tully glanced back to be sure that his passenger was secure.
Hitch ran to his jeep, pausing as he passed Tully to glance at their wounded member. He winced as he noted the bandages and the pale skin. "Sarge will get him to a doctor. Doc is tough, he'll make it." Hitch tried to reassure Tully when he noted the other private's blank stare.
"I wish I was so sure." Tully said flatly.
Hitch paused at the comment and peered at the wounded man again. "You did a good job with the bandages. It looks like the bleeding has stopped."
Tully didn't answer; he just twisted to look at his friend and sergeant and looked worried.
"Let's shake it Hitch!" Troy called impatiently. "We'll lead and cover for Tully if we run into trouble. We're headed for the nearest hospital. I don't want to stop to rest and let that column catch up to us."
Hitch turned at Troy's gruff tone and nodded. Knowing that Troy was so worried made the situation seem even more serious than before. Hitch slid into his seat without even pulling the binoculars from around his neck. Before the rifle he had carried to stand guard had seated itself in the holster on the fender he had the jeep moving.
Hitch set an easy pace, mindful of Tully's jeep behind him. Tully hung back so that the dust wouldn't settle on Moffitt and make him cough. They traveled that way for half an hour, always careful to pick the smoothest path.
"Hitch, hand me those binoculars."
Hitch pulled the field glasses from around his neck with one hand while he steered with the other. He drove now with an eye on the desert ahead, looking for a place to hide if Troy deemed it necessary. The minutes ticked by as they waited for Troy's decision.
"Find us some cover!"
Anticipating the command Hitch swerved toward some shallow depressions in the desert floor. While not deep, they were the only cover available for several miles. The few rocks scattered around were too small to hide one jeep, let alone two. No trees dotted this section of the desert and the trees were few and far between.
"There is a depression coming up that's a little deeper than the others." Hitch called.
"We'll hide in it." Troy called aback. "Tully!" The sergeant waved an arm to bring Tully up next to their jeep. "You take Moffitt and go ahead. Hitch and I are going to wait here and try to surprise that column. Maybe we can do enough damage that they'll turn back."
"Okay Sarge." Tully rolled his matchstick to the other corner of his mouth and bit down. "Just remember," he warned, "they have a machine gun in at least one of those trucks." .
"You know where we're going." Troy answered with a nod. "Just keep going, we'll catch up as soon as we can."
Tully acknowledged the instructions with a frown.
"It's up to you to get Moffitt to the hospital." Troy yelled across the space between the jeeps. "Don't worry about us; just get him to that hospital."
Hitch gave a little wave as he turned his jeep into the deepest depression to wait for the German column.